Mark Vaughn's Weblog

Weblog of Mark Vaughn, and IT professional and vExpert specializing in Enterprise Architecture, virtualization, web architecture and general technology evangelism

Tag: Cloud Computing

Cloud Alignment

December 27, 2012 / / 0 Comments

As an IT admin, it is often difficult to explain what you do with a simple answer. Your job is not simple or one-dimensional; system administration is merely the tip of the iceberg. You manage networks, storage arrays and servers so your company can provide services to customers and reach business goals. When considering cloud strategies for your organization, you can’t lose sight of this bigger picture and you must keep these ultimate goals in mind.

In the case of cloud strategies, maybe you choose to deploy a business model similar to an Internet service provider and establish a private cloud to provide services to business units. You could also employ a public cloud to offload time-consuming maintenance tasks. You might even use cloud services to move non-revenue-generating tasks out of your data center. All of these are useful cloud strategies, but you must ask yourself if they truly align with your business goals.

To continue this line of thought, read my TechTarget article “Aligning virtualization and cloud strategies with business goals“, then come back here and leave a comment to start the discussion.

Lessons from the clouds

April 19, 2011 / / 0 Comments

In my MBA studies, many classes touched on Herb Kelleher and Southwest Airlines. Mr. Kelleher was an excellent example of how leadership should be done, and he led Southwest to growth in a very difficult market. As I revisit my previous studies, I now see technology lessons that parallel the business lessons.

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Southwest simplified operational costs by selecting a single model of airplane and focusing on high-density routes. They also rode out some short term spikes in oil prices by leveraging advanced purhcases of airline fuel.

To read how these lessons relate to IT, visit my article “Successful virtualization strategies learned from the airline industry” at SearchServerVirtualization, then come back here to leave comments.

Will Cloud Computing level the playing field?

August 5, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Lately, we hear about “cloud” everything. But the cloud is forming, it is available today. I admit, it is still in it’s infancy, but you need to be thinking about the impact it will have on business and IT. How do you plan to take advantage of this technology/service offering?

For many, I think cloud computing technologies and concepts will allow them greater agility and effectively eliminate the barrier of entry into many technology services. A startup can leverage the cloud to quickly deploy an enterprise class infrastructure, and the big players need to be preparing for this as well.

I discuss this in more detail in my article “Public cloud computing levels the playing field” on SerchServerVirtualization. Please take a minute to read the article, then come back here to leave any comments.

Is virtualization cloud computing?

June 3, 2010 / / 0 Comments

There is a lot of talk about virtualization and cloud computing, and too much effort is spent to link the two. With so many virtualization vendors releasing a flurry of cloud-related technologies, and forming cloud-centric partnerships, the emphasis is understandable. However, it can really muddy the waters and has a tendency to lead people to think the two terms are synonymous. In truth, though complimentary, the two technologies can exist independently. In fact, cloud computing is as much methodology as it is technology.

For more on this topic, please read my article on SearchServerVirtualization at http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/news/column/0,294698,sid94_gci1513869,00.html

Once you read the article, feel free to come back here and leave a comment. This is  conversation that can go in so many directions, but I think it is an important one to have.

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